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Happy #BookBirthday to Tone Deaf by Olivia Rivers!

Today was a great day in the world of YA. Not only were A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas and True Born by L.E. Sterling born, but Tone Deaf was released! I will be reading Tone Deaf very soon, but I couldn’t let today end without sharing this book with everyone!

First off, isn’t the cover incredible?! I looooove colourful things, as you may have noticed by my blog design and, well, my hair. (I’m currently sporting an orange to maroon ombré.)

I’ve also got a bit more about the book, an excerpt and an interview with Olivia! And don’t forget to enter the giveaway at the bottom. 😉

About Tone Deaf by Olivia Rivers

Published by: Sky Pony Press

Publication date: May 3rd, 2016

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

His world is music. Her world is silent.

Ali Collins was a child prodigy destined to become one of the greatest musicians of the twenty-first century—until she was diagnosed with a life-changing brain tumor. Now, at seventeen, Ali lives in a soundless world where she gets by with American Sign Language and lip-reading. She’s a constant disappointment to her father, a retired cop fighting his own demons, and the bruises are getting harder to hide.

When Ali accidentally wins a backstage tour with the chart-topping band Tone Deaf, she’s swept back into the world of music. Jace Beckett, the nineteen-year-old lead singer of the band, has a reputation. He’s a jerk and a player, and Ali wants nothing to do with him. But there’s more to Jace than the tabloids let on. When Jace notices Ali’s bruises and offers to help her escape to New York, Ali can’t turn down the chance at freedom and a fresh start. Soon she’s traveling cross-country, hidden away in Jace’s RV as the band finishes their nationwide tour. With the help of Jace, Ali sets out to reboot her life and rediscover the music she once loved.

Excerpt

I walk around the room, running my fingers over the analog mixer, the power amp, the signal processor. I still remember my piano teacher making me learn all the stage technology when I was little. I’d thrown a fit; I wanted to play music, not learn about boring sound systems. But he’d insisted, saying that part of respecting music was respecting the devices that help create it.

I trace the ridges on one of the processor’s knobs. The technology hasn’t changed much since I last performed, but now that I can never be a part of it, the equipment feels cold and foreign under my fingertips.

“You’re missing a monitoring system. How do you play without one?”

The question slips out of my mouth before I can stop it. I don’t really want to know, right? Right. I shouldn’t have a casual conversation with Jace, not after what he did.

Jace raises his eyebrows and walks over to me, his arms crossed firmly over his muscular chest. He pauses to pat a small analog mixer, like it’s a dog needing attention, and then says, “Most of this equipment belongs to the stadium, but we like to use our own tech for the important stuff. Like the monitoring system. It’s already been packed up for our next show.”

I take a step back. “So then you’re leaving soon.”

“Tomorrow afternoon, thankfully.”

I try not to wince. The way he looks at me with disdain as he says “thankfully” makes me think I’m the one he’s happy to be leaving behind, and not this city.

“When do I get my money?” I demand.

Jace looks toward the tech crew guy, who’s standing in the doorway. He’s busy taking another picture of us and pretending he isn’t hearing a word we’re saying.

“I’ll give you the check when we’re done with the tour,” Jace says.

“Forget the tour. You give me that money, and I promise to not go to the media.”

He laughs in my face. “I don’t trust promises, sweetheart.”

I feel like I’m going to explode. Sweetheart? Does he really think he can call me condescending pet-names, after how he treated me? But I guess he doesn’t think that. He knows it. After all, he’s the one with the money and the leverage. I’m tempted to call this whole thing off just to spite him.

Instead, I take in a deep breath and ask, “Why do you use an analog mixer instead of a digital? Wouldn’t a digital mixer be better for punk music? Especially with all your guitars?” If I have to endure Jace’s presence, I might as well talk about something I’m interested in.

Jace blinks at me, and his sneer slowly melts into a frown. “You know about PAs?” he asks slowly. I can tell by the way he hesitates at the word “PA” that he’s trying to test my vocabulary.

I roll my eyes. “Of course I know sound systems.”

“How?”

“I’ve performed before.”

Jace lets out another scoff. “What venue would allow you to perform?”

“Carnegie.”

His eyes grow wide. “Carnegie Hall?”

I nod. There’s no way I can form any words right now. I haven’t talked about my past for a long, long time, and there’s a familiar stabbing pain in my gut as I mention Carnegie. I remember that night so well—I’d been terrified but exhilarated as I performed with a group of highly advanced piano students. It felt like every single eye in the audience was glued to me as my little hands flew over the keys. Everyone was waiting for me to screw up and prove that kids don’t belong in the most prestigious music hall in NYC.

I performed perfectly. And that was the real start of my music career.

Jace’s eyes narrow with suspicion. “Tell me where the ‘h’ note is on a keyboard.”

“There is no ‘h’ note.”

“Then tell me what an analog mixer does, as long as you’re so interested in mine.”

I rattle off an explanation that leaves him looking mildly impressed. “Great. So you’ve read a Wikipedia article about them.”

“I’m not making it up! I used to play.”

“Then prove it,” he demands.

I shake my head. “I’m deaf now. I don’t play anymore.” I don’t say what else I’m thinking: that I haven’t touched an instrument since the surgery permanently stole my hearing. That I don’t think I could if I tried. That the pain of it would kill me.

I couldn’t resist adding in this song that was part of Olivia’s official playlist for the book, as it takes me right back to high school!

Interview with Olivia Rivers

Where did you get the idea for Tone Deaf?

A lot of different things came together to inspire “Tone Deaf.” I wanted to see more disabled characters represented in YA books, so writing a deaf character really appealed to me. I was also interested in doing a story about music, since the professional world surrounding the art form is so unique and crazy. Then one day, I was jokingly brainstorming terrible band names with a friend, and “Tone Deaf” was one I came up with. It led to a light-bulb moment—what if I combined a music story with the story of a deaf girl?

Was writing a deaf main character hard?

Making Ali’s deafness realistic required a lot of research and more work than I usually put into characters. But at her core, no, Ali wasn’t a hard character to write. I’ve always seen her as being someone who’s shaped by the things she has—a talent for art, a snarky sense of humor, a passion for geeky things. The things she doesn’t have—like normal hearing—really aren’t what define her as a person. So writing her character wasn’t necessarily “hard”—it just took a bit more research than usual.

So is Jace based off one of your real-life crushes?

Oh my gosh, nooo. Since I’m a young author, I get asked this a surprising amount, and it always cracks me up. I’m rather outspoken and have no patience for ungentlemanly behavior, so I think Jace and I would last approximately two minutes in the same room before verbally ripping each other to shreds. It might make for some great viral-video material, but we would definitely never be relationship material!

What inspired the setting for Tone Deaf?

“Tone Deaf” is a road trip book that takes place all across the South West. But I’ve always seen the true setting as being “the RV” instead of “the South West.” From the start of writing “Tone Deaf,” I knew having my characters living in the band’s RV was going to present some interesting situations. As a writer, it was definitely a challenge. But it also made me appreciate the crazy lifestyle sacrifices musicians make to bring their music to people across the country!

What was the strangest part of writing your book?

When I realized that everyone aside from me apparently thinks the title is “Tone Death.” I honestly have no idea how this started. But I see a ton of bloggers and readers online making this typo in the title, and it’s actually kind of growing on me. “Tone Death” sounds awesomely hardcore.

What was your favourite part about writing Tone Deaf?

Even though he’s a side character, I think writing Killer was my favorite part. Killer describes himself as “the geekiest and gayest rock star in existence,” and he gave me an excuse to include a bunch of subtle nods to Doctor Who and Pokémon. Since his boyfriend is his polar opposite and utterly baffled by geekiness, their relationship was also very fun to write.

Is Tone Deaf connected to any of your other books?

Yes! While the plots don’t directly link, if readers look carefully, they’ll find that all my Contemporary novels intertwine a bit. Actually, the music from “Tone Deaf” plays a key role in my novel, “In the Hope of Memories.”

Do you plot your books before you start writing?

Nope! Plotting out events has never worked for me, so I tend to write very character-driven stories. I make sure to develop strong characters before I start writing, and then I allow the plot to unfold as the characters grow.

Is there a theme you hope readers will take away from Tone Deaf?

I hope readers will walk away realizing how empowering it is to take charge of your own future and defy expectations. Also, I hope they get the message that pit-bull snuggles are the most adorable of snuggles, and you definitely need an adopted puppy in your life.

What’s your favourite part about being published?

No question about it, connecting with readers will always be my favorite part. I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many amazing people through the book community, and I’m looking forward to meeting even more as “Tone Deaf” releases!

Giveaway!

About Olivia Rivers

Olivia Rivers is a hybrid author of Young Adult fiction. Her works include the independently published “Tortured Elements” and “Duplicity” series, along with the traditionally published novel “Tone Deaf” (Skyhorse 2016.) As a certified geek, she enjoys experimenting with new publishing technologies, and her online serials have received over 1,000,000 hits on Wattpad.com. When Olivia isn’t working as a writer, she’s a typical teen attending college in Northern California. Olivia is represented by Laurie McLean of Fuse Literary, and nothing thrills her more than hearing from readers.

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